Looking Beyond What You See (Yet, Kinda Not)

I have decided to look beyond my imperfections and limitations- 

and start looking at that which is beautiful inside of me and around me.

I will strive to see beauty where others see ugly, 

strive to see purpose where others see pointless, 

strive to see hope where others see a lost cause.

My God never gives up on me, so I cannot allow myself to give up on others. 

I cannot let me give up on me.

I thank God for the compassion He’s placed in my heart, for the loud, 

determined thumping when I know I have to bless someone. 

I thank God for my gentle spirit and my quiet ways. 

I thank God for my moments of weirdness and spontaneity. 

I’m thankful for the drive within me to do my very best. 

I’m even thankful for the tough lessons I’ve learned- 

the ones I could’ve only learned through experience. 

Thank you God for the beauty You have placed within me.

I thank you God for the beauty around me- in my family, friends, and workplace. 

Thank you for my preschoolers, whose little, 

hopeful lives have become my place of healing and restoration. 

Thank you God, that I often say nothing and my friends and family know just what I mean. Thank you for patience and support and peace, when all else is shaken.

Thank you, Lord, for warm sweaters, yellow leaves, sunsets and snowflakes. 

Thank you for red square plates, hot chocolate, and umbrellas. 

Thank you for freckles and rainbows and Goldfish crackers.

Thank you God for Your anointing and Your redemption. 

Thank you God, not just for the beauty on the inside, but the beauty all around us. 

Let me see it, God, and may I never forget this thankfulness.

I'm looking beyond what I see directly in front of me. 

But, I'm kinda not. Because the blessings and goodness aren't always visible,

Yet, they kind of are.